Break out the champagne flutes, long dresses, and tuxedos. It is that time again when the paparazzi mix with the Hollywood glitterati at the 82nd annual Oscar extravaganza. To join in the festivities, we have selected a variety of dishes that we would consider worthy of nomination for Oscar Night menus.
Sticking with classic dishes, the foodGizmo foodies chose three recipes that even the who's who in Hollywood would be proud to serve at their dining tables. Julia Child's:
Classic Cheese Souffle,
Campbell's Kitchen's mouth watering
Salsa Verde Meatloaf, and Paula Deen's
Grandmother Paul's Red Velvet Cake......
The first nominee (kicking it up a notch) is a
Salsa Verde Meatloaf. This recipe is sure to get your taste buds soaring "Up in the Air".
It was not only rated a five star recipe by Campbell's Kitchen, but also has only 5 ingredients. For working parents, how much easier can a recipe get?
And to top it off, dGizmo had all of the ingredients in her freezer and pantry so a trip to the grocery was not needed. Way cool.
She will confess meatloaf is not her number one dinner of choice; however, this is a recipe that she would nominate for an Oscar. It was rated by some of the harshest critics in the industry:
dGizmo's kids, and all of them gave it a 5 star rating. This meatloaf is must try for anybody, even those "non-meatloaf" fans!
The next recipe to be nominated for an Oscar is Julia Child's:
Classic Cheese Souffle.
This was a dish that provided dGizmo with "An Education" of what was experienced by Julia in "Julie & Julia". She found the recipe on both Epicurious and FoodNetwork and can be found with many other excellent recipes in her cookbook:
The Way to Cook
. Her only image of soufflé making comes from t.v. and movies. In those occasions where you see someone making a soufflé, you inevitably see the soufflé instantly fall after leaving the oven - to the chagrin of the on-screen baker. So she enevitably went into the making of the soufflé with trepidation. If you have a fear of making Souffles, fear no more. This recipe took 15 minutes to make, rose perfectly and was delicious too. A five star on FoodNetwork means its ready for its close-up.
Finally, bGizmo chose a rich, vibrant and decadent
Red Velvet Cake that would make an 'Avatar' blue with envy. What better way to wrap up our Oscar Night menu nominations, but with a flavorful, moist, and color appropriate Red Velvet cake? Moreover, when envisioning rich decadent cakes, who else comes to mind but Paula Deen? Can we say butter?
bGizmo found this recipe in her
The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook
. This recipe is the 'Dark Horse' of Red Velvet Cakes. If you are looking for a traditional red velvet cake recipe,
Grandmother Paul's Red Velvet Cake may not be the one for you. However, if you are open to trying a red velvet cake with a German-Chocolate flare, this recipe is sure to please.
Grandmother Paul's Red Velvet Cake received good reviews from family and friends and is only one of many delicious and easy to prepare recipes included in
The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook
. bGizmo prepared the layers using her 8 ½", 9 ½", and 10 1/2"
Oneida Platinum Springform Pans, 3 Pack
. She found each layer was cooked evenly and with only minor blemishes to the three layers of cake, application of the icing was effortless. Add the winning combination of chopped pecans and shredded coconut icing and you have your next Oscar nomination.
Give these simple and easy recipes a try. They were fun to make and share with family and friends, we say they are candidates for that golden Oscar Statue. As Rachael Ray says, "they are Yum-O".
We hope you enjoy preparing and eating them as much as we did. Also, check out the videos below to learn techniques on making souffle's, meatloaf, and red velvet cakes.
Enjoy
The Gizmos